One important exception

Retired Lieutenant General Arne Bord-Dalhough told Dagbladet that he believes the Victory Day parade in Moscow today will go very much as usual. However, he points out a specific change from previous years:

Pictures of Russian soldiers who fell in the war, the “Immortal Regiment” will not be shown.

– I think we will see a show not unlike before, but with one important exception: we will not see portraits of the dead and of ancestors, which were an important kind of tradition in the past, says Dalhough.

The “Immortal Regiment” is a train made up of family members of deceased soldiers from World War II. Each participant holds a poster with a photo of his family members who fought in the Great Patriotic War – the war against Nazi Germany.

Dalhaug explains to Dagbladet TV that conducting the regiment’s march as normal could invite a link to fallen Russian soldiers in the ongoing Ukraine war — something the Kremlin wants to avoid.

Vladimir Putin himself has ridden this train several times, holding a picture of his father, Vladimir Putin, who fought in World War II.

A number of weapons and military vehicles will also be displayed during the parade.

“It doesn’t take a lot of equipment to create the illusion that the show hasn’t been affected by the war,” says Dalhough.